Studying for a better future at Fight for Peace

18/01/2018 – When she was younger, Jeanne wasn’t interested in studying. At the age of 13, she dropped out of school as she didn’t see the importance of formal education in her life. This is a reality for many young people who live in communities affected by crime and violence.

With the aim of changing this situation and working with young people to support them to reach their potential, Fight for Peace Rio de Janeiro offers two education courses – Learning Support and Pathways. The former course is aimed at those young people who are most likely to abandon their studies and seeks to better equip them to progress in a formal education setting. The latter course, meanwhile, is aimed at young people aged between 18 and 29 years old who have been out of formal education for at least two years and who wish to gain the qualifications they require to enter the job market. Upon completion of the course, participants receive primary and secondary education certificates from Colégio Daltro and Fundação Roberto Marinho respectively, both partners of Fight for Peace.

A significant number of the young people on education courses at Fight for Peace in Rio de Janeiro abandoned their formal studies in order to work and support their families. “We have many cases of women who became mothers at a young age and who left school early in order to look after their children. For these, the course is an opportunity to complete their studies and return to work as quickly as possible”, explains André Lobo, Pathways Coordinator at Fight for Peace in Rio de Janeiro.

Now 29 years old, Jeanne is working towards a better future. She studies at Fight for Peace and has big dreams: “Today I feel more mature, more experienced and I know that I need to study to have a better future. When I finish the Pathways course at Fight for Peace I am planning to train in Radiology or go to university to study Physical Education. My biggest dream is to become a mother, and when I do so I am going to pass on to my children the importance of studying.”

In the time since Pathways began, in Rio de Janeiro alone 117 young people have completed their education at Fight for Peace.

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